Each android build has a build.prop file . As the name suggests , it has important properties of that android build. These properties are dependent on each device. Each build.prop file consists of numerous properties set by the Android build, each line for each property. Here , in this article i will try to define the purpose of each property and give out the values ( wherever i can ) .

Here are some settings which you can try to optimize .

1.Force launcher into memory

Property

ro.HOME_APP_ADJ = 1

Function

This will force the Default launcher into memory. But your device should be having enough free memory, otherwise you will meet lags and performance will be reduced severely. Use a light weight launcher for this.

Values

0 : Turns off the feature. Frees up memory.

1: Keeps the default launcher in memory .Will have highest priority and Android auto kills it only when it’s really necessary.

2.Improving Camera Image quality

Property

ro.media.enc.jpeg.quality=100

Function

This will force the camera application to use 100% quality setting when saving camera images as JPEG

Values

1-100 : with 1 as the worst quality and 100 as the best quality.

3.Increase resolution of panorama image

Property

Function

This will force the panorama mode in the camera app to save the image at a higher resolution. This may not be supported by all phones. And since it is an Android 4.0 feature , you will need that android version as well.

Values

defres: Provide the full panorama image resolution.Consisting of all images.

Function

Android uses the media framework named “Stagefright” from Froyo ( Android 2.2 ) onwards. While Stagefright is more open and simple, it is sometimes buggy compared to the previously used OpenCore framework. However, Google has greatly improved its stability. These values might affect the stability of playback in some devices, if it is ruining your experience , then revert to the original values.

5.Improve touch responsiveness through Hardware Rendering

Property

Function

This will force the system to use GPU for rendering each 2D frame in applications. Since android uses frame by frame rendering of the screen normally, this will offload the rendering to GPU by a huge amount and will make the user experience smoother.

Values

debug.composition.type values : GPU / CPU . GPU will make use of the graphic chip on your device for rendering each frame.

6.Disable Error Profiler

Property

profiler.force_disable_err_rpt=1
profiler.force_disable_ulog=1

Function

These commands enable or disable the error profiler in the android. For most android users, there is no use in having error profiling . however , some applications might make use of this for generating error reports.

Values

0 :Enable the feature. Better to delete the property if you don’t want to disable it.

1: Disables the feature.

7.Modify WiFi network scanning time.

Property

wifi.supplicant_scan_interval=180

Function

This command will be already present in all build.prop files. This controls the number of seconds the device waits before scanning for WiFi networks.

Values

Default value is 180 . It is in seconds . You can increase the value if you want to save more battery and doesn’t use WiFi extensively. Or else , you can decrease it , if you are dropping your WiFi signal often.

8.Disable logcat – Android Logger.

Property

logcat.live=disable

Function

This command controls the Android Logcat file generation. This file is mainly used for debugging. Expensive disk reads/writes can be reduced by disabling Android logcat.

Values

disable / enable

9.Improve Voice Call clarity

Property

ro.ril.enable.amr.wideband=1

Function

This command controls the AMR audio codec’s property.AMR codec is used for voice calls.

Values

1 or 0 .

10.Disable Extended JNI Checks

Property

ro.kernel.android.checkjni=0
ro.kernel.checkjni=0

Function

“JNI does very little error checking. Errors usually result in a crash. Android also offers a mode called CheckJNI, where the JavaVM and JNIEnv function table pointers are switched to tables of functions that do an extended series of checks before calling the standard implementation.” . That’s the definition from Android developers documentation. While disabling this may cause some data loss when the application crashes, most applications ,which are popular, have been thoroughly checked and hence will be using precious CPU time for extended checks . Save that time by disabling this.

Values

0 / 1 : disable / enable .

11.Disable Android Device Check In.

Property

ro.config.nocheckin=1

Function

Every Android device checks in at the Google Servers when an internet connection is found, this helps Google in tracking the number of installations and the statistics of different android versions. This can be disabled to save for saving traffic and some CPU time, due to the frequent polling for checking internet connection.

Values

1/0 for disabling and enabling , respectively.

12.Increase Voice Call Audio Adjustment Steps.

Property

ro.config.vc_call_steps=20

Function

By Default, android offers seven audio levels for calls. This can be altered through this command , if you want to fine adjust the volume of your voice calls. This won’t increase the volume if it’s already low. But you can manage it by more precisely.

Values

Number of steps as integers. 7-20 is recommended. 7 is the default.

Editing Build.Prop

For editing build.prop, your device should be rooted. That’s the first requirement.

It is at /system/

If you have Root Explorer / ES File Explorer installed on your device you can edit from the device itself. More easier method is to get he application named build.prop Editor . It can be used to change the values and add new fields.

Yes it would reduce battery life,the GPU would have a higher load,and GPU uses more battery than CPU.However,many rom devs that make roms with GPU-accelerated roms have awesome battery life.Take Toxic Rom v8 for Xperia Neo V for an example